Abstract: A medical apparatus includes: a first image pickup section that is fixed to a body wall and picks up an image of an inside of a body cavity; a recording section that records in advance, in preparation for a case in which a predetermined image change occurs in a first image picked up by the first image pickup section, a predetermined image area in the first image or a coordinate for specifying the predetermined image area; and a display section that displays, when the predetermined image change occurs in the first image, the image area or the coordinate recorded in the recording section to be superimposed on the first image picked up by the first image pickup section.

Abstract: A biopsy tissue sampling treatment instrument includes a stem portion having a predetermined length sufficient to puncture living tissue; a puncturing portion formed at a distal end of the stem portion and having a protruding surface portion expanding rearward along a puncture direction of the stem portion; a tissue holding surface provided on a rear side of the protruding surface portion in the puncturing portion and having an area large enough to hold the living tissue; a stopper member provided at a rear end of the stem portion and having an abutting portion capable of abutting against the living tissue punctured by the stem portion; and an operating member provided on the stopper member and configured to hold the stem portion to the living tissue, allowing the stem portion to puncture the living tissue.

Abstract: A navigation apparatus includes: a storage portion that stores three-dimensional image data of an examinee that is previously acquired; an organ extracting portion that extracts a predetermined organ from the three-dimensional image data; a first region designating portion that designates a tumor in the three-dimensional image data; a blood vessel extracting portion that extracts a plurality of blood vessels that are inside the organ from the three-dimensional image data; a blood vessel classifying portion that classifies the blood vessels into either arteries or veins; and a second region extracting portion that, based on three-dimensional image information of the blood vessels, extracts a tumor resection region that is a region that is classified based on anatomical features of the organ and that includes a tumor.

Abstract: A medical apparatus includes: a first image pickup section that is fixed to a body wall and picks up an image of an inside of a body cavity; a recording section that records in advance, in preparation for a case in which a predetermined image change occurs in a first image picked up by the first image pickup section, a predetermined image area in the first image or a coordinate for specifying the predetermined image area; and a display section that displays, when the predetermined image change occurs in the first image, the image area or the coordinate recorded in the recording section to be superimposed on the first image picked up by the first image pickup section.

Abstract: A navigation apparatus includes: a storage portion that stores three-dimensional image data of an examinee that is previously acquired; an organ extracting portion that extracts a predetermined organ from the three-dimensional image data; a first region designating portion that designates a tumor in the three-dimensional image data; a blood vessel extracting portion that extracts a plurality of blood vessels that are inside the organ from the three-dimensional image data; a blood vessel classifying portion that classifies the blood vessels into either arteries or veins; and a second region extracting portion that, based on three-dimensional image information of the blood vessels, extracts a tumor resection region that is a region that is classified based on anatomical features of the organ and that includes a tumor.

Abstract: According to an insertion support system of the present invention, when a biopsy area is specified at a periphery of the bronchi, the barycenter of the biopsy area is extracted. A circle centering on the barycenter is determined as a search area. The search area is expanded until the bronchi are located within the search area. A point in the search area to which the bronchi first reach is determined as an end point. A first route choice connecting the end point and a start point is determined. If the first route choice has not been registered yet, the first route choice is registered as a first registered route. Accordingly, a location of interest can be specified as an arbitrary region, and navigation leading to the specified region is appropriately set.

Abstract: In a camera head for an endoscope, a camera system for an endoscope, and an endoscope system of the invention, a camera head section has: an adaptor connection section to be connected to an eyepiece section of an endoscope that enables observation of inside of a body cavity of a subject; a CCD which picks up an observation image from the eyepiece section connected by the adaptor connection section; an image signal processing device which processes an image signal of the observation image picked up by the CCD; a cable including a connector as an output device which outputs the image signal from the image signal processing device; and a recording device which records the image signal.

Abstract: A biopsy tissue sampling treatment instrument includes a stem portion having a predetermined length sufficient to puncture living tissue; a puncturing portion formed at a distal end of the stem portion and having a protruding surface portion expanding rearward along a puncture direction of the stem portion; a tissue holding surface provided on a rear side of the protruding surface portion in the puncturing portion and having an area large enough to hold the living tissue; a stopper member provided at a rear end of the stem portion and having an abutting portion capable of abutting against the living tissue punctured by the stem portion; and an operating member provided on the stopper member and configured to hold the stem portion to the living tissue, allowing the stem portion to puncture the living tissue.

Abstract: With a bronchial tube insertion support system according to the present invention, a route setting unit comprises a route starting-point setting function for setting the insertion starting-point of a bronchial tube, a region-of-interest setting function for setting a region of interest serving as the insertion end-point of the bronchial tube, a route extracting function for extracting an insertion route from an insertion start point to an insertion end point, and a route verifying function for performing verification of the extracted insertion route. According to these functions, of multiple insertion routes, the most appropriate insertion route when performing insertion support is determined.

Abstract: In an insertion support system according to the present invention, on the basis of the rotation angle data of the VBS images stored in the memory, an image processing unit rotates and corrects the VBS image and the thumbnail VBS images to generate the insertion support screen.

Abstract: In an endoscope device 1 in accordance with the present invention, a navigation screen 51 is displayed. The navigation screen 51 includes: an endoscopic live image display area 52 in which a live image produced by a bronchoscope 2 is displayed; a VBS image display area 53 in which a VBS image is displayed; and a thumbnail VBS image area 54 in which images constructed by reducing VBS images that represent all branch points on a route are displayed as thumbnail VBS images representing branch points. Consequently, an endoscope can be reliably navigated to reach a target region using guide images that represent actual branch positions.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus 1 includes: an elongated insertion section 7 inserted into an object subject to image-pickup; a light source section 3 for emitting laser light; a power supply unit 8 for supplying electric power to the light source section 3; an enclosure section 10 disposed in the power supply unit 8; an intermediate section 11 connecting the enclosure section 10 to the insertion section 7; a light guide 5, disposed in the insertion section 7, for guiding the laser light emitted by the light source section 3; and fluorescent substance 6, disposed to the distal end of the insertion section 7, for illuminating illumination light by being excited by the laser light guided through the light guide 5.

Abstract: An automatic shoe clearance adjustment apparatus having a ratchet wheel 124b and a driving member 127 comprising a pawl section 127f making a ratchet engagement with the ratchet wheel 124b and an arcuate leaf spring section 127e developing a resilient force for adjusting the automatic shoe clearance adjustment apparatus. The leaf spring section 127e is made of bi-metal. When the temperature of the leaf spring section 127e exceeds the predetermined degree, the arcuate leaf spring section 127e thermo-deflects so as to weaken the resilient force, thereby the automatic shoe clearance adjusting operation is suspended.

Abstract: In an endoscope device 1 in accordance with the present invention, a navigation screen 51 is displayed. The navigation screen 51 includes: an endoscopic live image display area 52 in which a live image produced by a bronchoscope 2 is displayed; a VBS image display area 53 in which a VBS image is displayed; and a thumbnail VBS image area 54 in which images constructed by reducing VBS images that represent all branch points on a route are displayed as thumbnail VBS images representing branch points. Consequently, an endoscope can be reliably navigated to reach a target region using guide images that represent actual branch positions.

Abstract: In a camera head for an endoscope, a camera system for an endoscope, and an endoscope system of the invention, a camera head section has: an adaptor connection section to be connected to an eyepiece section of an endoscope that enables observation of inside of a body cavity of a subject; a CCD which picks up an observation image from the eyepiece section connected by the adaptor connection section; an image signal processing device which processes an image signal of the observation image picked up by the CCD; a cable including a connector as an output device which outputs the image signal from the image signal processing device; and a recording device which records the image signal.

Abstract: With a bronchial tube insertion support system according to the present invention, a route setting unit comprises a route starting-point setting function for setting the insertion starting-point of a bronchial tube, a region-of-interest setting function for setting a region of interest serving as the insertion end-point of the bronchial tube, a route extracting function for extracting an insertion route from an insertion start point to an insertion end point, and a route verifying function for performing verification of the extracted insertion route. According to these functions, of multiple insertion routes, the most appropriate insertion route when performing insertion support is determined.

Abstract: According to an insertion support system of the present invention, when a biopsy area is specified at a periphery of the bronchi, the barycenter of the biopsy area is extracted. A circle centering on the barycenter is determined as a search area. The search area is expanded until the bronchi are located within the search area. A point in the search area to which the bronchi first reach is determined as an end point. A first route choice connecting the end point and a start point is determined. If the first route choice has not been registered yet, the first route choice is registered as a first registered route. Accordingly, a location of interest can be specified as an arbitrary region, and navigation leading to the specified region is appropriately set.

Abstract: In an insertion support system according to the present invention, on the basis of the rotation angle data of the VBS images stored in the memory, an image processing unit rotates and corrects the VBS image and the thumbnail VBS images to generate the insertion support screen.

Abstract: An analyzing unit 9 is connected to an inserting-operation information collecting unit 5, an endoscope video output unit 6, and a processing device 2, and receives live inserting-operation information and endoscope image, standard inserting-operation information as stored information, and an endoscope image correlated therewith (endoscope image which is obtained by picking up an image of a sample at the position of a distal-end portion of an inserting portion detected based on the inserting-operation information). The analyzing unit 9 collects in real time the inserting-operation information and the endoscope image from the inserting-operation information collecting unit 5 and the endoscope video output unit 6 under the bronchoscope operation of an operator.

Abstract: In an endoscope device 1 in accordance with the present invention, a navigation screen 51 is displayed. The navigation screen 51 includes: an endoscopic live image display area 52 in which a live image produced by a bronchoscope 2 is displayed; a VBS image display area 53 in which a VBS image is displayed; and a thumbnail VBS image area 54 in which images constructed by reducing VBS images that represent all branch points on a route are displayed as thumbnail VBS images representing branch points. Consequently, an endoscope can be reliably navigated to reach a target region using guide images that represent actual branch positions.